Curses and Kisses
by YellowRoseGirl
Summary: Hermione always wanted to visit Egypt, she just never thought it would be while skipping her 7th year at Hogwarts to work with Bill for the Order. REVISED.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of it's characters and locations. This story is purely for entertainment, and I promise to give back all of the characters in relatively good condition.**

**A/N: Now that that has been said- I'm sorry for messing with this story so much, it just never seemed to work out the way I wanted. It has now been edited -yes again, and for the last time- to combine the original story with the second, simply because it seemed better put together. The first three chapters are finished, and I'm going to try and post a new one every day, because I really want to get my WIP stories finished up.**

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Pamphlets littered the floor around the fire in the Gryffindor common room, piles slowly getting smaller as destinations were ruled out. It seemed as though there was something wrong with each location they looked at, even if it was only that the Order considered the area 'unsafe'.

"You know Harry, you aren't going to be 17 until the end of July, so we don't really need to figure this out now, we still have months."

"How many times have I told you, Ron? We need to have the plans approved by Dumbledore, if we don't your mother will kill us. Who knows how long it will take." Hermione snapped as she tossed the brochure for a promising looking resort into the flames. "No wards allowed," she said in explanation.

"Besides, if we don't book soon, there isn't going to be any availability anywhere, summer vacations are popular." Harry said, looking like he'd rather be doing anything else. "Not that it would necessarily be a bad thing…" Ron frowned as another pamphlet flew into the fire.

"You may be the boy-who-lived Harry, but you aren't the boy-with-no-life. If the world falls into darkness because you took a week off, I'll take all the blame. Actually, I'll just say Malfoy kidnapped you. That'd be believable even if he denied it."

"Oh, here's a good one." Hermione said, doing her best to ignore Ron. "It's in France, but it's in a safe area, and they allow wards to be placed on the rooms. Plus, it has a private beach so-".

"Hermione!" Ginny called, making her way across the room. "I just ran into Professor McGonagall, she told me to tell you that Dumbledore wants to see you in his office right away. The new password is Cauldron Cakes."

Hermione's eyes widened, Dumbledore only ever called Harry into his office. She didn't move, trying as hard as she could to come up with some rule that she had broken. There was nothing. Even Harry and Ron had been subdued lately in an attempt to convince the Order they could handle a vacation on their own.

"But I haven't done anything!" She protested as she stood up, "What would he want with me?"

"Relax Hermione," Ron laughed, "its Dumbledore not You-Know-Who."

"Voldemort, Ron, his name is Voldemort." Harry said as Hermione stood and stretched.

Ignoring Ron's mumbling behind her, Hermione headed out the portrait. The walk to the headmaster's office didn't take very long, but she wouldn't have noticed if it had. She was much too lost in thought. The only explanation she could come up with was that something had happened to her parents, causing her scream the password at the gargoyle and run up the steps faster than they could move. When she finally reached the top she burst through the door without knocking.

"Are my parents alright?" She asked, before the door had even closed behind her.

"Please, sit down Ms. Granger. Your parents are both doing just fine. Would you care for a Lemon Drop?" He asked, gesturing to a small bowl as she sat.

"No, thank you. Is there something the matter Professor? Usually you ask to speak with Harry." He smiled, and gently pinched his nose.

"Nothing is wrong, in the sense that you are asking."

"But there is a problem?" She asked.

"What were you considering as a career Ms. Granger?" Hermione sighed, knowing that it was almost always difficult to get information from the headmaster.

"Harry and Ron wanted me to go on to auror academy with them, though I told Professor McGonagall I'd much prefer curse breaking to being an auror. What's going on Professor?"

"I'm going to tell you a little story." He said, leaving Hermione with the impression that she wasn't going to get an answer.

"Quite a long time ago in Egypt, there was a sorceress named Ichstata. She was brilliant beyond her time, and was the creator of many spells and potions that were left unused due to circumstances beyond her control. It is even commonly believed that she is the key to certain lost ingredients."

"Lost ingredients?" She asked, wondering what any of this had to do with anything.

"There are a few ancient and obscure texts that reference plants no one can identify. The descriptions are similar to plants that were believed to be used by Ichstata. Agian, not much is known, so it has yet to be proven. Her greatest accomplishment, if it can be proven true, was the creation of a combination of spells and potions that would block the killing curse." Hermione gasped.

"You keep saying things like, 'believed to be' and 'if', and that 'not much is known'. Doesn't anyone know for sure? And if this sorceress was so great, accomplished so much, why isn't she in our texts? Why haven't we heard about her in class?"

She wasn't sure yet where this story was going, but he couldn't say things like that without explaining it better. Nothing could stop the killing curse! It was what they had always been taught.

"The wizarding world may not have been as bad as the muggle world, but prejudices still existed. Ichstata was young, and she was female. It is likely that the only reason she received any attention at all was because she was quite wealthy."

Hermione sat confused, watching the Headmaster look at her warily through his glasses, wondering if he would continue, or if she should ask more questions.

"She was young when she began her work and young when she finished with it. She died at age 20. Her palace was sealed off and warded, and believed to be unplotable. The only thing that is known about her work today is what little had been recorded in the journals of others."

The dramatic pauses were driving Hermione crazy, and she resorted to taking a Lemon Drop off of his desk.

"We know that she referenced spells, plants, and ingredients that cannot be identified by anyone today, and we know that she put certain restrictions on all of her notes and journals, although none have yet been found."

"Restrictions?" He looked at her sadly over the top of his spectacles.

"Ah, and so we being to reach the important part of the story. Ichstata's writings can only be read by a female under the age of 20. It was said that she didn't want men reading her writings since they so often tried to discredit her work."

"And this is known for certain?" She asked, wondering how they knew this when everything else was so uncertain.

"We have found the journal of one of her servants. While it did not detail any of her work or accomplishments, we found a passage regarding her journals. It appears she used her servants to test the spells placed on them. The results when either a male, or someone over 20 tried to open the journal were not pleasant."

"Why someone under 20 though?"

"It is not very clear about that, as I said, sources of reliable information are scarce. All we know is that it was her age when she died." Hermione frowned.

"Forgive me professor, I'm more than intrigued by all of this, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"We are in a time of war Ms. Granger, things happen in these times that would never happen otherwise. Everyone must make certain sacrifices. It's all for the benefit of the greater good you see."

"No, I don't see actually," Hermione answered rather snappishly, getting worried about where the conversation was going. "You doing your very best to be quite elusive, is what I see."

"You would not be incorrect in saying that, but I fear it is because I do not like what I have to say."

Hermione glared, a picture of where this was going forming in her mind. She still wasn't sure what it had to do with the Egyptian sorceress, but as soon as he mentioned sacrifice, her mind flew to their vacation.

"There is no one in The Order with the qualifications to see, open or read Ichstata's writings. The journals and notes that could be the key to this war would be left unopened, unless we could find an Order member who has the qualifications necessary to read them."

Hermione's eyes snapped open, the story suddenly becoming clear.

"You want me to…"

"I realize that you are still a student at Hogwarts, which usually restricts one from joining The Order, however you are 17, and an adult.

"Eighteen," She muttered, trying to piece things together in her mind.

"Ah, yes, you are referring to your use of the time turner?" Hermione didn't answer him, her mind busy elsewhere.

"What exactly…?"

"Ichstata's palace has been found, and The Order's best curse breaker is currently getting ready to head out there. It is my request, on behalf of The Order, that you join our ranks and accompany him to Egypt. You would be providing a great service both to The Order and this war, as well as gaining valuable experience in your chosen field."

Hermione sat dumbfounded, not knowing which question to ask first.

"Um, how long exactly would this take?"

"To be honest, we are entirely unsure. The job presented is complex to say the least."

"And, who exactly is the orders best curse breaker?" She didn't know the order more than one curse breakers, and she could think of more than one Order member she wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time with.

"Bill Weasley, of course, you knew that." Hermione could barely contain her groan, not knowing if that made it better or worse. Honestly, who didn't have a crush on their best friend's older brother at some point? Right?

"What about our vacation? What about school? You have to have some idea of how long it's going to take?" This wasn't right. She was torn between thrilled that she could help somehow, and scared to death. This was an important role, Harry always got assigned the important tasks. And what about her vacation? Not that it compared to winning the war, but she'd been looking forward to it.

"As I said Hermione, war is a time of sacrifice. I cannot make any promises as to when you would be finished. My opinion is that you would not be finished in time to return to school in the fall."

"My N.E.W.T's! My career?" She asked, all the while thinking that if they lost the war, none of those things would matter anyway.

They sat in silence as the old wizard looked at her sadly over the top of his spectacles. For a minute, Hermione thought he was going to offer her another lemon drop, but was greatly relieved when he started to speak.

"I understand that your education is important to you, but I know that your friends and family mean more to you. This is the key to the war Hermione. You're the most brilliant witch of your time. There is little more we could teach you in a year that you don't already know."

"I understand all that Professor and you know by know that I would do whatever I could for Harry. I'm just worried about my future should there be one. One of the first things Professor McGonagall explained was how important N.E.W.T's were."

"You will still be able to sit your N.E.W.T.'s. I've also arranged for this assignment to cover your Post-Educational training should you choose to pursue curse breaking as a career."

She tried to gather her thoughts, not wanting to seem difficult. It just seemed like an awful lot to spring on her like he did. Her thoughts drifted to Harry and Ron in the common room, and the vacation they were supposed to take this summer.

"Harry already thought the vacation was too good to be true, I think. That's why he was so reluctant to plan it," she added, not sure why.

"Perhaps, if everything is going well, and there is no danger," he said while making sure he caught her eye, "or risk in doing so, you would be able to stop for a short vacation." She could tell by the way he was looking at her, he already knew she had made up her mind. "You can tell me tomorrow, if you wish."

"I know you know better, professor. In fact, I have the impression that you were never actually asking me, because you knew all along that I would agree." He started to respond, but Hermione just smiled. "I think I need to get some rest Professor."

"Very well. Have breakfast with your classmates in the morning, after the train leaves we'll go to Headquarters, and I can tell you more."

The war had come to her. She wasn't just assisting Harry anymore, now there was a specific responsibility lying on her shoulders. And as she stood to walk out of his office, she grieved for Harry. She already felt like she couldn't breathe, and he'd been carrying a heavier weight on his shoulders for much longer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of it's characters and locations. This story is purely for entertainment, and I promise to give back all of the characters in relatively good condition.**

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The next morning Hermione woke in time to have a quick breakfast with her friends before they got on the train. She had a lot to explain to them, and she was hoping that if she did it in a public place they would react better knowing that they couldn't cause a scene. It wasn't as if she could have told them the previous night anyways, by the time she had returned to the Common Room they had all gone to bed. She purposely chose seats at the very end of the table, away from everyone else. Harry gave her a strange look but joined her, causing Ginny and a reluctant Ron to sit as well.

"I have something important I need to tell you, and by the time I got back last night you were all asleep." At this, Ginny snickered, looking at Ron with amusement.

"Actually, we were tricking Ron down to the infirmary to get a sober-up potion."

Hermione scowled, turning to glare at Ron. Sure, it wasn't his fault, but the thought that he was off drinking while she was doing something related to the war really irked her.

"Honestly, Ronald."

"Just because you're all prim and proper doesn't mean the rest of us don't know how to have a good time once and a while!"

"Yes, you've obviously got that under control." Without waiting to hear his response she made her way out of the Great Hall. Once the doors had closed behind her she slowed her pace and headed for the lake.

"Don't let him get to you."

"Ginny! What are you doing here? You should be getting ready to get on the train. It leaves at half nine." Ginny rolled her eyes, nudging Hermione slightly with her shoulder.

"This was my fifth year here Hermione, I know the schedule. Harry and I saw Ron onto the train and waited for it to leave. I sent Harry to go tell Dumbledore we missed the train and told him to meet us here."

"Waited for it to leave? Ginny, I've only been here five minutes." Ginny smiled, shaking her head at her friend.

"You must have been in a hell of a daydream." Hermione pursed her lips at the curse, causing Ginny to laugh.

"If you're going to be living with my brother for the next year, you're going to have to get used to it. Believe me he has one of the foulest mouths I've encountered." Hermione eyebrows rose in shock but she grinned, it was true. He was the perfect little angel in front of Molly except his hair and earring, but once the door was closed he was a different Bill. He cursed a lot, and not in the magical way. His drink of choice was firewhiskey, and it was acceptable with breakfast, as long as his mother wasn't there. She didn't understand that one; she'd almost never seen him drunk.

"How did you know?"

"Bill told me in his last letter that Dumbledore was going to ask you about it, so when you said you had news I guessed. Don't let him protect you though." Hermione's eyes narrowed in confusion. "He was pretty upset after the whole Department of Mysteries thing. My guess is that he'll have to be convinced you can take care of yourself."

"Of course he was upset! You're his sister." Ginny smiled, expression telling Hermione to believe what she'd like. "I can take care of myself!"

"That's what they all say." Ginny teased lightly, grinning when Hermione smacked her on the arm.

"We shall see. I don't leave until tomorrow, so I wont have to worry about it for another day. This afternoon I'm being officially inducted." Her eyes widened. "Speaking of, does Harry know?"

"No, but he suspects it has something to do with the Order."

"He's also standing right behind you." He said from behind them, causing both girls to stand up.

"Harry." Hermione said, looking like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Last time I checked." He answered, grinning. "Is it my turn to know what's going on?"

"You should probably sit," Ginny said, patting the ground beside her.

"The reason I didn't take the train is because this afternoon I have to go with Dumbledore the Headquarters." Harry's eyes narrowed.

"You're being inducted aren't you? But he still won't let me."

"I'm seventeen Harry, technically eighteen. He can't induct you until you're legally an adult. Based on what's been said, I'm sure that when you turn seventeen in July you'll be inducted too. Ron, well he's proved too many times that he isn't responsible."

"He'll still be inducted."

"I have to agree with Hermione. Harry the only way he could have gotten as drunk as he was last night was if he snuck out to get more alcohol. He had less than half a bottle of Ogdens stashed. That means he left the castle and went to Hogsmede, if not somewhere worse, without telling anyone. He's my brother, but he's stupid."

"That's not fair Ginny."

"No, she's right." Hermione said. "And I'm sorry to say it, but he's chatty. I'm sorry Harry, but if he were ever captured I'd be willing to bet he spills his guts, because he certainly won't hold his own against torture and legillimancy."

"He wouldn't do that. You're just upset because of this morning." Hermione sighed, knowing how stubborn Harry could be.

"Maybe you're right. Either way, that wasn't what I had to talk to you about. Yes, this afternoon I'm being inducted to the order, but that's only like a side note. The important part is where I'm going after that."

"Which is?"

"Egypt."

"EGYPT! What in the bloody hell are you going to Egypt for?"

"Let me finish, without interrupting." She waited for Harry to nod before continuing. "Bill is in Egypt, working on a palace for the order. Due to some odd guidelines on who can open a book, I'm the only one in the order who can do it." Harry looked like he was going to interrupt but Hermione raised her eyebrow, causing him to stop. "I had told Professor McGonagall that I wanted to be a curse breaker, that's another reason why he thought I should go, so I can train while I'm there and it won't matter as much that I'm going to be missing my last year here."

"WHAT?" Ginny and Harry screamed at the same time.

"Dumbledore said that he doesn't suspect we'll be done by September."

"And you agreed?"

"Harry, the book I'm after is a very important text. I wasn't very happy about it either at first, but if Dumbledore is sending me all the way to Egypt it's got to be important right?"

"You'll keep in touch right?" He asked, with a sad grin.

"Of course. That's it? No argument or fighting?"

"No fighting. If Dumbledore thinks it's necessary, and there was enough evidence to convince you, that's good enough for me. I'm going to miss you though."

"I know. I'll miss you too."

"Dumbledore wanted up to head up to his office, he's just going to have the three of us floo to Headquarters. He didn't mention that it had been your destination all along though."

"He wouldn't, you know how he is." Ginny told him as she stood up, pulling Harry and Hermione with her. "If we hurry, lunch may be ready."

"Ginny! You just had breakfast, it's only, what, half ten?"

"Just after eleven actually, but I'm hungry, so get walking." She ordered pulling them along the path at an even more rapid pace than before. It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the headmaster's office, and even less time for him to send them on their way with the assurances that he would see them later.

"Hermione, they're waiting for you down in the kitchen."

"Thanks Professor," she said, glancing up as she marked her page. "Are they already started?" She may have been doing a good job acting like this wasn't effecting her, but inside she felt like she was going to explode. Her nerves were off the chart, and she certainly wasn't going to ask for a stress potion.

"Not yet, they're still waiting on Severus also, but he's almost always late." She nodded absently, following him into the kitchen only to be surprised to find Bill sitting there. No one had told her he was going to be there. He gave her a quick grin before turning back to Dumbledore.

"And here she is now. We were just discussing you, Hermione." He told her, gesturing for her to talk a seat. She smiled not knowing what to say, and hoping against hope she wouldn't embarrass herself when she did speak. Especially not in front of Bill. She was going to have to work with Bill.

"Bill wasn't supposed to be here, but he decided to drop in last minute, with the idea that he just had to get you to Egypt today."

"Professor? What about my parents? I wanted to arrange something before I left. I'm worried about them being targeted and defenseless."

"Since you're a member of the Order…"

"Sir?" She was a member of the Order? She hadn't even been inducted.

"I'm not Voldemort, Hermione; I'm not going to brand you. You've already been voted in, that's what makes up the induction." She wasn't sure how he knew what she was thinking, but she suspected it had something to do with Legillimancy.

"And because you are no longer a student, you should feel free to call me Albus." She opened her mouth to protest that she couldn't possibly when Bill decided to speak up.

"And by feel free, he means you're forbidden to call him anything else. He did the same thing to me and I had a bugger of a time getting used to it."

"I was hoping that you would consider allowing them to spend some time, at least the summer months, at Hogwarts." She stared at him wide-eyed, forgetting that she was trying to make a good first impression on a group of people who had known her for seven years.

"Hogwarts? You can't possibly be serious. You want to take two muggles to Hogwarts?"

"It seems one of our professors would like help redesigning the Muggle Studies course. And I'm sure Poppy would love to meet them. I promise you they will remain safe while there."

"I know. So why am I headed off today?"

"I'm not entirely sure. You know how those things are," Bill said, glancing at the headmaster. "But since he mentioned it, there is one thing I'd like to start on as soon as possible, but it's only my horrible curiosity that has me suggesting it." Curiosity was something that Hermione could understand since it had been the driving force in causing her to read so many books.

"Which I can more than understand, so if that's what you want to do its fine with me. I was hoping to get a bit more time in the library, but I can't say that I'm not at least a little excited about seeing the place anyway." She looked around, noting that no one seemed concerned with the absence of the potions master.

"In that case, I believe we can retire for lunch."

"Chat over lunch?" Bill asked smiling, as he walked over to Hermione. She thought about it, knowing they'd have to get better acquainted at some point. She'd only spent about an accumulated ten hours with Bill over the last two years.

"As good a time as any," she answered, silently praying that they would get along ok and work well together. They would have to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of it's characters and locations. This story is purely for entertainment, and I promise to give back all of the characters in relatively good condition.**

******A/N: Chapter 4 is almost finished, it just needs some editing. I should be posting it tonight.**

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Lunch turned out to be a variety of soups and sandwiches that Mrs. Weasley had prepared before their little discussion. Hermione refused to call it a meeting, it had seemed much too brief and informal, and she felt like they would be having a more official meeting once she was in Egypt. Well that was fine with her; she would still be doing something helpful, exciting, and educational.

"So how did you managed to get yourself inducted into the Order at sixteen, Mum's been ranting about it ever since I got here?" She arched an eyebrow. Sixteen, her? She tried her best to keep the irritation from showing in her voice.

"Has she now? I'm afraid your mother has left you misinformed. For some reason she always forgets that I was born before Ron, not after. I should be seventeen now, turning eighteen in September." Hermione said as they sat down at the small table in the kitchen, rather than at the dining room table.

"Should be?.. So you aren't actually 17 then?"

"Yeah, er,no. It's a really long story, but I'll make it short. My third year at Hogwarts I decided I wanted to overload on classes; I petitioned the ministry for a time turner and actually managed to get one. I used it for an entire year, so in reality I'm actually eighteen turning nineteen in September."

"Wow." She couldn't decipher the look that he was giving her, so rather than wait awkwardly for the next point of conversation, she continued her story.

"It's also how Sirius and Buckbeak managed to escape back on the night Sirius was captured at Hogwarts. Harry and I took a little trip through time."

"Unbelievable, I always wondered how he managed to get away on a hippogriff that was supposed to be dead, and Albus was rather close-mouthed about the whole thing."

"From my perspective now, I can say it was rather fun. At the time it was a disaster. Harry wasn't familiar with time-turners, so it was hard to convince him we needed to stay out of sight of ourselves. I suppose it was rather simple, it just seems like an odd thing to send the 14 year old out to do.

"Simple, eh? Maybe this really is the job for you." He said, laughing as he grabbed another sandwich. She gave a little sigh, telling herself she could be the person she wanted to be. Brave ad daring.

"Maybe." She replied while shaking her head. "But it really is amazing the three of us survived our time at Hogwarts."

"I'm sure I never got to hear most of it. But don't worry," he said laughing, "You'll have plenty of time to tell me about it." She grinned is response, but was busy noticing that he was even more attractive than usual when he laughed.

"You seem to have known about this plan a lot longer than I have." She mused while nibbling on the corner of her sandwich.

"About a week now. I wanted to send a letter to you when I found out, but Albus asked me not to. I'm not sure why he waited so long to ask you though."

"I have a pretty good idea, it's the way that he is you see. If I'd had a week to think about it, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have panicked and backed out because I didn't want to miss my N.E.W.T's. Knowing him, he knew that, and so he decided to just eliminate that possibility. It doesn't matter though, I looked it up earlier and I don't have to be a student next year to sit my N.E.W.T.s, I could just register at the ministry and take them on my own." Bill smiled, causing her to wonder if he was laughing at her studying. She shook her head; why in Merlin's name was she so insecure all of a sudden.

"I never really got that much information, only that they were going to ask you to help. Were you interested in curse breaking or did they just toss it at you?"

"I had told Professor McGonagall awhile back what I wanted out of a career. She suggested becoming an auror, and while Harry and Ron greatly supported it, I suggested that it would never happen. Curse breaking came up later in the conversation." She thought about asking him about why he became a curse breaker, and decided against it, relieved when he spoke instead.

"How much did he really explain to you?" Her eyebrows rose and she couldn't stop a small smirk.

"Not much really. The basics I guess, a book that can only be opened by me, some powerful plants and spells, and that about sums it up." She couldn't help but notice how comical it was, the way his eyebrows rose and his lips parted in shock.

"Wow. There's a lot that people have uh, failed to mention apparently, and it's best I do that before we start anything. Now or later?" She gave him a look that clearly said 'why even ask'.

"Might as well do it now. It's not like there's anything else we could do here that would be relevant, and once we get there... well, there's plenty." He nodded.

"Well there's the part you already know a little about. So far, I have a collection of rooms that should be completely safe, but I'm finding traps and rigs everywhere. There is no way she could have lived her daily life with all the traps set about the place."

"Unless everything you're seeing was just put there for you to see, right?" He looked at her for a minute, and she felt the need to continue. "I mean, Just because she had a huge palace doesn't mean she used it. Look at Hogwarts. It could be that there's a secret area, or just an area you haven't reached yet, and that was the only area she lived in. Or if she had servants who were witches they could have been instructed to place the traps after her death."

"I did consider that there was a living area that I haven't reached yet, but I haven't found any proof that her servants were witches, or even of a magical nature. We'll find out though."

"You really think her servants were muggle? Wouldn't that have caused problems for her?"

"Potentially, but I have to consider that the Muggle and Magical communities were much closer back then. Not to say that they got along, or even desired a relationship, they simply coexisted better." He looked like he was going to continue, but she couldn't help herself.

"Until the Rebellion of 1826, when secrecy statue was enacted. Before that, there wouldn't have been any need to have magical servants." She finished quickly, amazed that she hadn't considered that possibility until he practically waved it in front of her face. "What about testing though? If she created as much as she did, she would have needed to test results. Testing on muggles would be useless, their chemistry is too different." She watched as Bill nodded his head, thinking perhaps if wouldn't be quite as bad as she expected it to be.

"I've entertained the possibility that there were some muggle, and some magical, but I've only been there about four days. Apart from what we're supposed to be doing, I don't know much more than you do."

"Yes, what are the full details of what we're supposed to be doing?"

"Part of what we have to do is search the entire palace and grounds for secret passages, hidden chambers and the like. They want us to find anything an everything. Notes, objects, plants, anything that could be useful. There's also a few tomes and journals, written by her, that we need to find, but we're supposed to examine any written works, even if they aren't on the list. There's also the amulet."

"Amulet?" She asked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Albus hadn't said anything about an amulet, and one taken from the palace of a princess was bound to be cursed.

"Of protection. They're hoping that one of the potions in her Journal, when combined with the amulet, will repel the killing curse." Block the killing curse? No one had ever achieved that before… or had they?

"There are several other magical relics we're hoping to locate too, but I'll tell you more about those later, since the full list is in Egypt."

"That doesn't sound so bad." She reasoned that it could have been much worse. After all, it was just a few more items than the book.

"Did I mention that he's holding us responsible for locating all of the items listed, even if they _aren't_ in the palace?" Her eyes widened a bit, no wonder he hadn't expected them to finish by September. She was really going to have to talk to that man about his idea of a mission briefing.

"This of course," he said pointedly, "Is supposed to be secret, and not meant for the ears of other nosy red-heads."

"I'll assume you mean Ron?" He nodded, trying to get the last of the soup out of his bowl. "Then you won't have to worry. Ron and I aren't exactly on friendly terms right now." He looked her over for a minute with a strange expression.

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened that wasn't in due course. I guess I just kind of snapped on him, because he was acting like a moron granted, but it made me realize I just need some space from him." Bill studied her for a minute, looking confused.

"Why?" The conversation was getting a bit more intimate than she would have liked, but she answered the question.

"Because he's a friend. One of my best friends. But that's all. There isn't anything more than that there, and he knows that. I think the problem is that -and don't take this wrong- your mum seems adamant in making sure there's something there, and that leads to everyone else expecting it, so no one wants to hear otherwise."

"Message received. No discussion of Ron." He paused, "That goes for Ginny too." He said causing her giggle.

"What? That my feelings are completely platonic?" He laughed and shook his head.

"Cute. But I meant the nosy redheads clause."

"So does that mean if you forget something you said, and ask me about it I shouldn't tell you?"

"No, it certainly does not you silly witch. Besides, I never forget anything I say."

"Well, I'll have to put that theory to the test, all your brothers are quite forgetful. Either that or they have a very selective memory." She watched as he laughed, wondering how to keep the conversation going. Her suspicion that the first few days were going to be quite awkward was growing larger by the minute. They would have to keep busy, or she wasn't sure she was going to make it.

"Would you relax, it's not going to be that bad." She frowned wondering if she was that obvious.

"It's not my fault you're…" She trailed off, realizing she had been about to say 'so bloody sexy.' He arched an eyebrow and gave her the smirk that only the two eldest Weasleys had mastered.

"What? So charming, wonderful, amazing… Should I continue the list?" Oh god, but he was giving her those eyes again. Oh Merlin, she shouldn't say it, she had to work with him, so she'd take the safe route.

"Oh, Absolutely. Each word leaves me even more amazed that you can fit your head through the doorway."

"Hermione! Dear! Could I speak with you for a moment please?" She refrained from groaning, not sure this conversation would be much better.

"Of course," she replied, glancing at Bill. "Excuse me a moment, will you?" She asked, although she didn't wait for a reply as she followed Mrs Weasley. She was barely out the door when she was guided down the hall.

"Hermione, dear, are you sure you won't reconsider?" Hermione shook her head, more out of disbelief that a desire to answer her question.

"Of course not. Who do you suggest does it if I don't? No one else meets the requirements."

"What about Ron? You won't see him all year." Her eyes narrowed slightly at the older woman.

"Ron and I aren't speaking right now." Mrs. Weasley made a face that indicated she thought Hermione was clearly insane.

"Well you can't blame him for being angry. You, running off to Egypt, not even of age yet…"

"I'm sure Albus explained it Mrs. Weasley, I'm actually eighteen. I was born before Ron, not after, and I used a time turner for a year."

"Oh nonsense. The Ministry would never allow it. Just remember that there isn't going to be anyone out there to save you. This job means you have to do the saving." Hermione felt her eyes narrowing. She could usually be pushy, but usually she was nice about it.

"I don't need saving."

"All four of you have gotten it into your heads that you're brilliant. Luck doesn't give you skill."

"Maybe we're smarter than you think we are."

"That may be the case, but you've never done this job, and it's a dangerous one. Don't you dare get my son killed." Hermione's jaw dropped open as she stood there speechless. Blinking back the tear that was threatening to fall, she headed out the front door, disappearing with a pop.


End file.
